First, let's talk about all the good stuff about our Thailand experience thus far: We arrived in Krabi, Thailand on April 27th. Krabi is famous as the jumping off point for many of the beautiful islands in Thailand. You can see beautiful limestone sea cliffs everywhere, the ocean water is always about 85 degrees because it's SO hot here, and the flora and fauna is just gorgeous. The Thai people are also extremely warm and very eager to please guests. As long as you shy away from eating at your hotel restaurant, the food is pretty cheap. As opposed to Singapore and Malaysia, the shopping here is very cheap. You can find sarongs, knock off handbags, and crafts for quite a bargain.
As with everything else though, you get what you pay for. To sum it up, everyone will agree that Thailand is quite beautiful. On the flip side, this is a poor country and there are signs of this almost everywhere you turn. The most disconcerting of these indications is how many older Western men you see touring Thailand for female companions. This is a popular stereotype of Thailand that I was hoping would be
a gross exaggeration. Unfortunately, the stereotype is just proven as an understatement when you're here. When we were in the Phuket airport leaving for Chiang Mai, we went into a bookshop just to browse.
They had all the normal stuff-- magazines,
Harry Potter, other New York Times bestsellers-- but they also had a section called "Thai Western Relationships." I was pretty horrified to find titles like "So Many Girls! So Little Time!" This aspect of Thailand bothered me the most and further underscored the consequences of a country's poverty and ill-funded education system. I had to remind myself to focus on the positive in Thailand because the negative would endanger my overall experience in this country. When we arrived in our hotel in Phuket, it was time to relax...and watch the Royal Wedding. Sorry, but I was sucked into the "William and Kate" craze that is SO popular around the world. We went downstairs to eat dinner and had our best meal thus far in Thailand. Come to find out, the hotel and its restaurant were founded and are currently run by an American couple who fell in love with the nearby beaches on their honeymoon. The hotel was such a great value and so was the food at its restaurant (room: $40/night and 3 course dinner for each of us totaled: $20). It's amazing how much they've rebuilt in Phuket after the devastating Tsunami of 2005. A couple of tips for those thinking about traveling to Southern Thailand: nice hotels by the beach are EXPENSIVE even by American standards, Thai food is not like the Thai you're used to in the States and many travelers don't like the fermented fish sauce they use in almost all the Thai dishes here, and while you're here be aware of some of the negative aspects but try your best to focus on the beauty and hospitality in Thailand.
First, let's talk about all the good stuff about our Thailand experience thus far: We arrived in Krabi, Thailand on April 27th. Krabi is famous as the jumping off point for many of the beautiful islands in Thailand. You can see beautiful limestone sea cliffs everywhere, the ocean water is always about 85 degrees because it's SO hot here, and the flora and fauna is just gorgeous. The Thai people are also extremely warm and very eager to please guests. As long as you shy away from eating at your hotel restaurant, the food is pretty cheap. As opposed to Singapore and Malaysia, the shopping here is very cheap. You can find sarongs, knock off handbags, and crafts for quite a bargain. 
As with everything else though, you get what you pay for. To sum it up, everyone will agree that Thailand is quite beautiful. On the flip side, this is a poor country and there are signs of this almost everywhere you turn. The most disconcerting of these indications is how many older Western men you see touring Thailand for female companions. This is a popular stereotype of Thailand that I was hoping would be a gross exaggeration. Unfortunately, the stereotype is just proven as an understatement when you're here. When we were in the Phuket airport leaving for Chiang Mai, we went into a bookshop just to browse.
They had all the normal stuff-- magazines, 
Harry Potter, other New York Times bestsellers-- but they also had a section called "Thai Western Relationships." I was pretty horrified to find titles like "So Many Girls! So Little Time!" This aspect of Thailand bothered me the most and further underscored the consequences of a country's poverty and ill-funded education system. I had to remind myself to focus on the positive in Thailand because the negative would endanger my overall experience in this country. When we arrived in our hotel in Phuket, it was time to relax...and watch the Royal Wedding. Sorry, but I was sucked into the "William and Kate" craze that is SO popular around the world. We went downstairs to eat dinner and had our best meal thus far in Thailand. Come to find out, the hotel and its restaurant were founded and are currently run by an American couple who fell in love with the nearby beaches on their honeymoon. The hotel was such a great value and so was the food at its restaurant (room: $40/night and 3 course dinner for each of us totaled: $20). It's amazing how much they've rebuilt in Phuket after the devastating Tsunami of 2005. A couple of tips for those thinking about traveling to Southern Thailand: nice hotels by the beach are EXPENSIVE even by American standards, Thai food is not like the Thai you're used to in the States and many travelers don't like the fermented fish sauce they use in almost all the Thai dishes here, and while you're here be aware of some of the negative aspects but try your best to focus on the beauty and hospitality in Thailand.
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